I had to laugh at this post. When I got married, I knew how to sew some as my mom taught me. But I like instant gratification and mom was a perfectionist. I used to say she basted her buttons on before sewing them on, so you get the drift. But my DMIL was a seamstress and sewed for the public since she was 10, things were made quickly but were always perfect (she made my wedding gown, 15 yards of Skinner satin, 10 yds of a French lace).
A couple years later she gave me her old 1928 Singer and 'taught' me her way. The first lesson, buy easy Patterns to start and never read the instructuctions as you won't understand them. Sew by site and your gut feeling, with a problem, find something in your closet ready made and use that as your pattern to look at. I did that on the first pair of pants I made for my husband, putting in the fly. Instructions were useless, as they were with his first sportscoat, I got ones out of his closet, seeing it visually, had the process done in no time. Sewing has always been fun for me because of that. I've even made broomstick skirts with 7-10 yds of taffeta with no pattern.
So here I am, 48 years later, still having fun. My DMIL is gone now, but her picture is in my sewing room and she sewed up until 6 mo. before she died at age 93. Lots of her leftover fabric clients didn't want, ended up as aprons which she sold to make a little more money. All different styles, but she didn't use patterns for any of them. Thanks for jogging the memory.